In order to provide fit and comfort to a wearer, many commercially available disposable absorbent articles, e.g., diapers, include elastomeric elements. For example, a diaper may include elastomeric elements in leg regions and a waist region of the diaper, thereby allowing the diaper to extend and contract about the leg regions and waist region of a wearer. The capability to extend and contract about the leg regions and the waist region can allow the disposable absorbent diaper to fit a wide range of wearers.
In some instances, the elastomeric elements can be manufactured via a mechanical activation process. The mechanical activation process typically involves meshing a web of material, e.g., a laminate web comprising a nonwoven and elastic, between activation members. The activation members can have protruding engagement elements. Generally, the engagement elements of the activation members intermesh. As the web of material is intermeshed between the engagement elements, tensile forces are applied to the web of material such that the nonwoven is permanently elongated at least to a certain degree. The nonwoven is elongated so that upon release of the applied tensile forces, the web of material generally will not fully return to its original undistorted configuration.
However, the intermeshing engagement elements generally provide no safeguard against slippage of the web of material with respect to the activation members. For example, in some cases, the web of material can slip in a cross machine direction with respect to the activation members. In general, the slippage occurs at the outermost intermeshing engagement elements of the activation members.
This slippage can reduce the amount of strain applied to the web of materials proximate to the outermost intermeshing engagement elements. Unfortunately, the reduced strain can limit the amount of elasticity applied to the web of materials proximate to the outermost engagement elements.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus which can reduce the amount of slipping by the web of materials on the outermost engagement elements of the activation members.